Are you so wrapped up in everything voice over that you forget to take time for yourself? If you are anything like me, you live and breathe voice over. Constantly on Zoom groups or speaking to colleagues and trying to find ways to improve. Most of your waking moments are spent thinking about how you can market better, audition better and book more jobs.
Don’t forget to take time for yourself. All that hustle and bustle may feel like it’s a good thing, but you need to remember to take a break. Get away completely from what you do on a day-to-day basis. That could mean blocking off your weekends and never checking emails until Monday. Or planning a mini vacation once in a while and NOT taking your microphone! Yes, I am being serious! LEAVE the 416 at home!
Living in the Freelance world means we are responsible for our own outcomes. This leads us to believe that if we miss an audition, we may lose a great job. What we forget is that our rate of return on our auditions is low. Missing a few auditions is not going to cause your business to crumble and fail. If you have good relationships with your return clients, they will understand that you need vacations just like they do. If you let them know ahead of time, they can plan sessions around your vacation. The world will not crash down around you. I promise!
Mental health is the most under-discussed medical issue in the world. It affects so many people (including myself) and you need to take time for yourself. It is essential for the creative mind. It allows us to experience things that can then blend into our performances. Without experiences we are nothing. So, treat it as a necessity rather than a nice to have. Get out of the booth whenever you can and discover new things! Obviously, Covid 19 will affect this but don’t use it as an excuse. You probably need it no more than ever (I’m sure you’ve heard that phrase before!)
You probably got into Freelancing to allow you to spend more time doing what you enjoy. Make sure that you are not doing more work now than ever and having less “me” time than ever. That’s not what you did this for. I have spoken to many colleagues over the last few months that have returned from amazing vacations and you can just tell that they are refreshed and invigorated. I can guarantee that this will be heard in their auditions and work. Which will probably lead to more work. It’s a win-win. And anyway, I love hearing what a good time they had!
So, just do it! Yes, Nike were right. Get out of the booth. Plan a hike. Go see some amazing scenery. Make some memories. If anyone asks. Tell them I gave you permission! If they try and blame me, I’ll probably be on top of a mountain somewhere!